Nylon webbing has begun to replace wire cable in a variety of mechanical winding apparatus. For example, certain winches, ramp door lifts, and over head door torsion spring counterbalances have been developed that use lengths of nylon webbing in place of wire cable. While webbing is replacing the traditional wire cable, conventional winding apparatus still wind the lengths of webbing onto single-piece cast or molded drums as with the wire cable.
The strap spool of this invention has a two piece design where two symmetrical spool halves slidably mate to form a drum around which the strap is wound. Each spool half has a central hub with an axial opening, which allows the spool halves to mount onto a drive shaft. An annular flange extending radially around the hub and a barrel sleeve extending from the hub perpendicular to the flange. When spool halves are mated together on a drive shaft, the barrel sleeves slidably extend into axial openings in the hub of the opposite spool half and form a tubular drum overlying the drive shaft around which the strap is wound. The strap spool's two piece design and the slidable engagement of the two mating spool halves allows the strap spool to accommodate straps of various widths. The two-piece design also enables convenient strap installation and replacement without additional fasteners, ties or tools.
Theses and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.